Improved india-rubber tablet



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE..

E. M. snEPAnD, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVED INDIA-RU BBE-R TABLET.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent'No. 42,883, dated May 24, 1864.

To all whom it may concer-n:

Be it known that I, F. M. SHEPARD, of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful improvement in Portable Calendars in the form of Tablets made of india-rubber or other like composition 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact descrip tion of the same.

Portable calendars have become an indispensable vade-mecum, being constantly referred to in business and other transactions for the purpose of fixing the date of any given day. Those heretofore made, printed on paper or card-board, were lia-ble, by constant handling, to become soiled,and consequently illegible. Others are printed in pocketbooks, which necessitated the unfolding of the same, which is a source of much inconvenience.

The object of this invention is to make calendars which are not liable to be soiled, effaced, or obliterated, and which may be read on the outside or face, whether applied or not to objects generally worn in the pocket; and my invention consists in making calendars of aplastic composition capable of induration in the form of tablets, having on one or both sides the letters and numbers constituting the calendar-text arranged in columns impressed to project from or be sunk below the general surface of the tablet.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I shall now proceed to describe the manner in which the same is or may be carri ad into effect.

Referring to the drawings, Figure l is an isometrical perspective viewof a calendar-tab` let.

The material of which the tablet is made is is that known as hard rubber 77--that is, a compound of india-rubber and sulphur, with or without other ingredients, which in the process of vulcanization is submitted to a high degree of heat.

The method of preparing the compound being well known to rubber-manufacturers, I shall omit to particularize its manufacture. It may be stated that previous to vulcanization the compound is plastic. It is then placed in a mold having upon its interior face engraved or produced two series of seven columns of numbers, givin gthe dates correspond ing to the days indicated in the left-hand column, and the months in columns, parallel with the numerical columns, and bordering each of the two series. The arrangement is indicated in Fig. l. These tablets may be made with one portion of the calendar on the one side and the other on the opposite side. In such case but one series of numerical columns is used on either side. Or the tablets may have the calendar-text on one side, the other side bearing some inscription independent of the calendar. Thus advertisements or businesscards may be impressed on the back of the calendar-tablet, giving the name, residence, occupation and other information for the beneit of the advertiser.

Instead of letters, figures of trade-mark or ornament, may be impressed on the back of the calendar-tablet.

In Fig. 2 I have shown my invention applied to covers of pocket books or diaries. The tablets in this case bear the calendartext on one side only. They may therefore be made thinner `and applied to the covers of the pocket-book by means of rivets, or they may be cemented thereto.

For advertising purposes I attach a calendartablet on the one cover and an advertisin g-tablet on the other.

In Fig. 3 I represent memorandum-slips united together by means of an eyelet or rivet or other device, so that the slips may be shifted and unfolded in the manner of a fan. In this case the outer slips are provided with calendar-tablets, or with a calendar-tablet on one sideand an advertising-tablet on thel other.

Other uses may be made of my invention; but I have described some which will sufficiently illustrate and foresh adow a large number of applications.

Instead of india-rubber, any other plastic composition or material may be used, but I prefer rubber on account of its lightness, durability, and cheapness.

Having thus described myinvcntion, I claim as new articles of manufacture- Calendars made in tablet form with the letters or inscriptions embossed on or impressed in the material of which it is composed in such manner that they s112111 be in relief7 or depressed-that is, project from or sunk below the general surface of the tablet', the letters being arranged in sueh manner as to form on one or both sides a calendar iu aJ condensed form, giving the dates of every day and month of the year or years, substantially as set forth.

In testimony Whereoflhave signed my name to this specification before two subscribing Witnesses.

F. M. SHEPARD.

Witnesses:

GEORGE SIMMONS, J r., JOSEPH A. MrRooTT. 

